Sharanagati

Collected words from talks of Swami Tirtha




ff9af002fbff2814ba83e2faef97f154

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 6.09.2015 pm, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Friday) 

There is no higher knowledge, there is no superior science than the knowledge concerning devotional service to Krishna. I think I told you many times but I have to repeat again: there are 64 items, or ingredients of worship that you can offer. And my favorite is what you prefer, what you like – you shall give this to God. I think that makes it very personal. And what is the ultimate object of attachment of us?

Answer: Myself.

Swami Tirtha: So, finally it is this very dear object that we should also give, we should offer. Because that makes it so personal. You see, this is not a theoretical science, but this is life. This is devotional life! “My Lord, I am ready to give myself to You!” Science is always alive. Real science is always practical.

All right, now we understood what the supreme knowledge is. But “What is the highest fame in the world?”[1] Usually we are very ambitious. We want to bathe ourselves in the attention of others. We want to enjoy the attention of others, we want to be famous. So, what is the highest fame?

Mahabhava: To be a devotee. Servant of the servant.

Swami Tirtha: Well, I think you are infected with this vaishnavism. Because somehow the answer is very similar to what you’ve mentioned. “The highest fame for a living being is a reputation of being a devotee of Krishna.” So, to be a devotee – this is a very exceptional position. And why for example do we worship a pure devotee? Because he’s got, or she’s got somebody in the heart. The Divine Couple is in their hearts. So, if you want to find Them, come closer to a sadhu. Then it’s very easy to find our beloved Divine Couple. This will make the sadhu, the pure devotee so precious to us. Therefore, to be a devotee is such a glorious position.

But you might say: “Although I’m a devotee, nobody knows about my services on this planet Earth, I’m so insignificant. What can I offer to Krishna? He has got everything.” But the spiritual reality has different measurements than what we have on this planet Earth. It’s not the numbers, it’s not the weight, it’s not the length that is calculated in the spiritual world. It’s the subtle quality. The subtle quality, the emotional surcharge of any little insignificant service. Lord Krishna possesses everything in this creation. He is in need of only one thing – your affection. Therefore to be a devotee this is such a glorious position. Even if nobody knows about your services on this planet Earth, don’t worry, in the spiritual sky it is recorded.

Can we go to the third question? “What is the most valuable possession of life among all the assets of the world?” Who is considered to be rich, in other words: What is the greatest treasure?

Answer: Prema.

Swami Tirtha: Yes. “One who has transcendental love for Radha and Krishna is to be considered the richest person in the world.” Where do you position yourself on the scale of wealth?

Answer: A beggar.

Swami Tirtha: Beggar? Such a glorious position! Just recently I met quite an influential person and he said: “Well, I’m very moderately wealthy”. So, the wealth of the world cannot satisfy your desires. If you don’t have, you want to have. If you have, you want more. If you have more, you want even more. There is no end to this story. And I tell you, this material world is a reflection of the original one – it happens in the same way in the spiritual sky. If you don’t have divine love, you want it. If you have one drop, you want two. And if you have two drops, you want one cup, then you want an ocean. This is the greed, the insatiable basic greed that we all share. And I think we all know this feeling, right – we want more! We only have to transpose this feeling directed to some material satisfaction to the spiritual service.

What is the timeframe of the universe? One lifetime of Brahma. It’s a very long period – some three hundred and eleven thousand billion years. But it is said it is less than a blink of an eye for Krishna. In the same way, if we accumulate all the wealth of the whole creation, this is very insignificant compared to this treasure of divine love. Therefore we cannot buy it. There’s no way to compensate for that, no way to buy it. It’s not merchandise. This is something else, this is a treasure that is freely distributed.

 

(to be continued)

[1] In Search of the Ultimate Goal of Life, by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 



Leave a Reply